Felicia Coco is the Co-Founder & Director at LaunchLink, a PR firm, with offices in Melbourne, San Francisco and New York, helping startups and tech companies build their brand.
1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
I’m currently the director and co-founder of LaunchLink Communications, a PR firm that specializes in storytelling and communications for high growth tech companies around the world.
Prior to founding LaunchLink, I cut my teeth in PR working with tech brands like Microsoft, Dropbox, Square, Eventbrite and more in various PR agencies.
During this time, I carved out a niche in B2B communications for tech companies, particularly in helping Silicon Valley unicorns build a brand presence in Australia and the APAC region.
In 2017 I moved to San Francisco to focus on growing LaunchLink in Silicon Valley and working closely with startups in the US.
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2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
One thing I love about my job is that no two days are ever the same. Because of COVID-19, I’m currently home in Melbourne, so I usually start my workday around 7am so I can quickly check the news, and touch base with our clients and team members in the US.
From around 9am I check in with the Australian team and plan the day. We often have news announcements going out first thing, or commentary requests from journalists for breaking news, so mornings can be a little chaotic- but definitely exciting.
After getting a good caffeine fix, I’m usually on calls with clients or journalists building out media strategies and stories for the press for the rest of the day.
Prior to COVID-19, you could often find me chatting over coffees with journalists, hopping between client meetings, meeting prospective clients, hosting brand events or teaching media workshops.
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
Yes! Flexible working is built into LaunchLink’s DNA. Our team comprises professionals in different countries and cities, from Melbourne and Sydney, New York and LA, to San Francisco and London.
Working across timezones means we need to be flexible, and we encourage our team to work from where they feel most comfortable, whether that’s in the office, from a cafe (pre-COVID-19!) or from home.
Personally, I enjoy this flexibility because it allows me to work from different cities around the world, and interact with a diverse range of companies that would be unlikely if we maintained a traditional office structure.
4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
As a founder, I don’t think there is ever a clear separation between work and life, but it’s important for those two elements to exist in equilibrium. There’s no point in being your own boss if you end up spending all your time working.
Agency life is notorious for long hours and skewed work-life balance.
It’s something that we were hyper-conscious of avoiding when building LaunchLink; we didn’t want our team working sweat-shop hours and missing out on their personal time.
We try to keep work within the standard working day, for example, if we need to take meetings or work outside of those hours, we make sure that we finish the work day earlier.
5) What do you think are some of the best habits or routines that you’ve developed over the years to help you achieve success in your life?
Resilience, focus and staying healthy. Building a business is hard work and it can be easy to get distracted when things don’t work in your favor.
Staying healthy is a big one. If you’re not physically and mentally well, you can’t perform at your peak and you’ll have to work twice as hard to get to your destination.
6) Are there any books that have helped you improve over the years?
High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard.
7) What is the number one thing you do to make sure you get the most out of your day?
Map out my goals for the day (after a strong coffee) and find time for a workout.
8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
JAY Z.
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